Japanese RedCross Medical Center
Phone:03-3400-1311

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To the family members of the NICU/GCU patients:
Congratulations on the newborn!
The staff at JRCMC will do the best to support the motherand the baby. Please feel free to ask for any help.
The NICU/GCU department is divided to 2
areas: the NICU and the GCU.
This brochure includes the following
information. Please read carefully.
Ⅰ Basic information regarding: Guest visit to the NICU/GCU
 Items allowed to be brought to the visit
 Kangaroo care・sibling’s visit・childcare during the visit
Required documents Required Documents for the Baby’s Birth Consultation with the Doctor Others
Ⅱ Information regarding breast milk2

Ⅰ Basic information
1．Guest visit to the NICU/GCU
If this is the visitor’s first visit, a staff member will guide thevisitor around the unit. Please inform the staff over theintercom at the NICU/GCU entrance.
 Before the visit:① Because children in the NICU/GCU are vulnerable to illness,the visitor should refrain from visiting if he or she not in agood physical condition.
② If any member in the visitor’s family is not feeling well, weask the visitor to wear a mask during the visit. The visitor
should prepare the mask by himself. If he or she is not sureif the visit is proper due to the physical condition, please
consult our staff.
③ Before entering the unit, the visitor should wash his hands.
Before making any physical contact with the baby, please
use the prepared alcohol-based hand sanitizer for
disinfection.
 Entering the NICU/GCU① After hand wash, the visitor will tell his name over theintercom. Upon confirmation of the visitor’s name, thedoor will be unlocked.
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② Only the child’s parents and grandparents can enter theroom and no more than two people can enter at the sametime. If there are more than two visitors, please take turnto enter the room.
③ If the child’s siblings wish to visit, please make an
appointment.
④ The following hours are for checkups or treatment. Pleaseavoid these hours.
8:00～11:00 and 16:00～18:30
 Possible Interruption of the visit
If any emergent checkup or treatment is necessary, the visit
may be temporarily interrupted. We appreciate yourunderstanding.
 Use of locker
A limited number of lockers are available and each family canuse one locker. The hospital is not responsible for any lost
items in the locker. Please keep the valuables with you at alltime.
 Lost & Found
Please directly contact the general administration
office (Soumuka 03-3400-1311 ext. 2127) for any lost and4

found items.

2．Items allowed to be brought to the visit
While your baby is in the hospital, you can bring a message
card or a photo (only one per child) to decorate the bed. Wewill announce you of bringing in a toy for the baby based on
his/her growth. Please clearly label it with the baby’s name.
We will carefully handle it but please understand that there isa possibility of breaking or losing it accidentally.
 Use of cellphone
Because of the medical devices used in the NICU/GCU,
please set your devices to the mode which do not emit radio
waves or turn them off.
 Use of camera or camcorder
Use of camera or camcorder is allowed in the unit. The
hospital is not responsible for any lost items brought to theunit.
 Food and drink
Visitors are not allowed to bring food and drink into theNICU/GCU.
However, there is an exception for the mothers.
Mothers can drink in “the salon for mothers and babies (the5nursing room)”.
The drink must be bottled with a lid. To drink, mother willneed to move to the salon. No food is allowed in the salon.
No one is allowed to drink or eat at baby’s bedside.
To drink, visitors other than mother will have to get out of
the NICU/GCU.
 Others
Please do not bring in PC or books, that is not necessary forthe visit.
3．Kangaroo care*・sibling’s visit・childcare for the baby’s
siblings during the visit
Please talk to the staff if interested.
When the siblings visit, please do not leave them alone
on the hallway at any time. They should always beaccompanied by adults.
*If the condition allows, for better bonding between themother and baby, we will have the mother hold the baby for awhile during the visit. This is referred to as “Kangaroo care”.
4．About checkups for congenital metabolic disorders
Depending on the baby’s birth weight, milk intake or thecondition of digestion, a test might need to be repeated forseveral times. In such situation, if the family gives consent to6

the test, we will perform any additional tests if necessary at
no further notice to the family. The family’s understanding isappreciated in advance. The test result will be given directlyby the doctor in a later consultation. If the family does notagree to this arrangement or has any questions, please talkto our nursing staff.
5．Doctor’s Consultation
If you wish to request a consultation with the doctor, please
inform the staff of a desired date and time. After confirmingwith the doctor, we will schedule a meeting.
As the policy of the hospital, we do not give patient’s healthinformation over phone calls and a consultation with thedoctor cannot be scheduled on nights, Saturdays, Sundays
or holidays.

Required Documents for the Baby’s Birth【Birth Registration and Health Insurance】
For birth registration, please bring your seal and theMaternity Health Record Book and visit your ward officewithin 2 weeks after the birth. You can take out healthinsurance for the baby at the same time when you register
the birth at the ward office. If the parents have social
insurance or are insured by any health insurance society,7please take out insurance through your office at work.
When the child’s health insurance card is ready, pleasepresent it to the Admission Reception Office on the firstfloor.
【Birth Notification】
You can find a postcard in the Maternity Health Record Book
for birth notification. After the birth of the baby, please fillout the required information on the postcard and specify thatthe baby is being hospitalized. Please send out the postcard
and contact the health center again after the baby isdischarged from the hospital.
【Medical Subsidies】
Newborns with birth weight lower than 2000g or in need ofcritical care may be qualified for medical subsidies. In suchcases, a staff member from the financial office will contact
the parents.
【Billing】
Upon confirmation of your medical insurance, the medical bill
will be ready for you to pay after the 10th of the next month.
Place and Hours for Payment
You can pay your bill at the accounting counter on the first8

floor between 8:30 and 17:00, Monday to Friday (except
national holidays, the year-end and New Year holidays, andMay 1st).
Please note that:
A deposit of 30,000 yen is required if the medical insurance
card is not ready before the baby is discharged. Fee
adjustment will be made later after you present theinsurance card.

Other information
There are midwives, students and interns from nursing schools
practicing in this hospital. Your child may be under the carejointly provided by a nursing staff member and a student orintern. Please let the staff know if you prefer otherwise.
We occasionally give facility tours or tours for the parents
whose child might be hospitalized in the NICU or GCU. The
visitors of the tour will be observing from the hallway. Your
understanding on such occasion will be greatly appreciated.
To prevent any accidents, the child’s name will be specified
on the baby crib or incubator.
To improve the quality of medical care, we provide the data
regarding perinatal care (the development of pregnancy,delivery, baby’s birth weight, postnatal care) to Ministry ofHealth, Labor and Welfare. Please let the staff know if you do9

not agree to this.
When the umbilical cord falls off, sometimes it could be
accidentally thrown away with used diapers. Your
understanding is appreciated in such situation.

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Kangaroo Care
For parents to have more opportunities to establish an early
relationship with their baby byphysical contact, we promote “kangaroo care” here NICU・GCU. It refers to direct skin contact by holding the baby inthe arms. We encourage parents to take part in this care andenjoy the special moment with their baby.
The merit of “Kangaroo Care”…
It could promote the secretion mother’s milk.
A special moment between the parent and baby. It keeps thebaby calm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. When is the good time to stare “kangaroo care”?
A. When he baby’s breathing and blood pressure become
stable.
Q. At what time and for how long each session of the careis?
A. During the visiting hours for about one hour each time.
11You may feel anxious to hold the baby longer outside thebaby crib. But, to keep the baby calm, we recommend thatthe session be for one hour.
Q. What does the parent do at the session?
A. Please seat yourself comfortably in the chair prepared in
front of the baby crib. The baby will only be wearing a diaper.
Hold the baby in your arms directly to your bare chest.
Q. Can the mother breast feed the baby during the session?
A. If the baby wants to be feed, the mother can try to breast
feed the baby and the accompanying staff member will help.
☆ “Kangaroo Care” is by appointment only.
Before the session, a staff member will explain the details tothe parent and practice with the parent if necessary. Pleasefeel free to ask any questions.

12Ⅱ Use of Breast Milk in the NICU/GCU
Breast milk is the best primary source of nutrition fornewborns because it is easy to digest and high in foodenergy. This is particularly true for premature babies. It also
has high concentration of antibodies that keeps the baby
from getting infection. Freshly-expressed breast milk iscarefully stored and all the newborns in our NICU/GCU are
fed with breast milk.
1.

Breast milk

The initial thick and yellowish milk after childbirth is referred
to as “colostrum”. In this hospital, all newborns are fed withcolostrum. Breast milk up to the first 7 days after childbirthis regarded as colostrum and is stored in the freezer evenfor babies who cannot be fed right away. Breast milk after
the first 8 days is referred to as “mature milk” with a bit
different nutrient
content from colostrum. In this hospital, mature milk stored
in freezer packs is used within 72 hours (3 days) ofexpressing.
※Breast milk can be stored up to 3 months at -20℃ in afreezer.

13★How breast milk is used:①colostrum before being frozen→②frozen
colostrum→③mature milk before being frozen→④frozen
mature milk

2.

When to freeze mature milk:

Store all the unused colostrum in freezer packs. Three days
before the stock of colostrum runs out, you can start toprepare the stock of mature milk. Please freeze theexpressed mature milk before bringing it to the unit, andbring in the frozen stock of mature milk before the stock ofcolostrum runs out. Be sure to eject the colostrum beforeyou start to prepare the stock of mature milk. Even during
milk ejection, please continue to express milk for more milk
to be made later.

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3.

How to store breast milk in freezer packs

Please remember:① Store all the amount of freshly-expressed breast milk infreezer packs after each expressing.
② When the mother is not directly breast feeding the baby,
freshly-expressed breast milk should always be stored inbreast milk freezer packs and be frozen. Babies areusually fed every 3 hours (8 times per day). Therefore,
please prepare 8 bags of breast milk for each day. Whenthe baby’s milk intake increases, please increase theamount in the bag by 5-10 ml.
How to prepare a stock of frozen breast milk: You should prepare:
Breast milk storage bags and disinfected baby bottles.
 How to sterilize baby bottles?
Wash the bottles with bottle detergent and rinse thoroughly.
If you use bottle sterilizer, please follow the manufacturer’sinstructions.
You can also use the following methods to sterilize bottles:① To boil in water: Fill a pot with enough water to cover allitems. Bring it to the boil and boil for 10 minutes.
② Using chemicals ： Follow the manufacturer's instructions
carefully when you make up the solution to make sure it’s
the right strength. Submerge all the items and leave them15

in the solution for at least 1 hour.
③ Steam sterilizer: Following the manufacturer's
instructions, put water, solution (if any) and bottles into
the unit and turn on the switch.
④ Microwave steam sterilizer：Put water and bottles in a
specialized container or bag to be used in a microwave
oven. Heat it for 5 minutes.
How to express breast milk?
① Wash your hands thoroughly with soap.
② Express breast milk into a sterilized baby bottle. Avoid
contact with the face or hair during expressing.
③ Store the freshly-expressed breast milk into a milk packand air should be extracted from the pack. Fold theopening of the pack 3 times and seal the pack with alabel.
Be careful that:
Never touch the inside of the pack with your hand.
On the label that seals the milk pack, please write down
the mother’s name, the time and date of expressing andamount of milk. Colostrum should be specified.
How to freeze the breast milk?
Within 30 minutes of expressing, freeze the pack in a freezer
16and make sure that it is getting frozen. You do not need towrap the pack with plastic wrap.
Having a good control on the milk stock① The mother is responsible to have a good control on theamount of expressed milk and baby’s daily milk intake.
Please keep a record on the milk amounts using the milk
diary on the next page. It is not our responsibility toinform the mother of insufficient stock of milk.
② How to keep a record on the stock of milk
During hospitalization, babies are fed 8 times a day. If thebaby needs 30 ml for each feeding, 240 ml (30 ml×8times) is the amount needed for 1 day. Because theamount is only approximate, please prepare more than 240ml to spare. The amount of milk needed is likely toincrease every day, so please confirm the amount at eachvisit. If you have any questions, our nursing staff will behappy to answer your questions.
4.

When to bring in the frozen milk stock?
① Please bring the frozen breast milk to the unit using acooler with ice packs. If you do not live nearby, pleasetalk to our staff.
② Breast milk can be brought whenever you want. If it17

arrives before 10 am, possibly it will be given to the babyon the same day.
5.

The outpatient lactation service

If you have any questions or troubles regarding breast
feeding, please consult with the outpatient lactation service
in the department of obstetrics. If you have delivered in adifferent hospital, some extra fees may apply. Please contact
the department directly.
Service hours:
Weekdays only: 8:30 to 15：00（by appointment only） How tomake an appointment: Please directly call the Outpatient
Obstetrics Department to make an appointment.
★Please call in the afternoon if possible.
★A midwife from the NICU/GCU is on duty every
Wednesday.

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